The Tragedy of Liberation

A History of the Chinese Revolution 1945-1957

By: Frank Dikotter

Narrated by: Bruce Mann

Following the defeat of Chiang Kai-shek in 1949, after a bloody civil war, Mao hoisted the red flag over Beijing's Forbidden City, and the world watched as the Communist revolution began to wash away the old order. Due to the secrecy surrounding the country's records, little has been known before now about the eight years that followed, preceding the massive famine and Great Leap Forward.

Drawing on hundreds of previously classified documents, secret police reports, unexpurgated versions of leadership speeches, eyewitness accounts of those who survived, and more, The Tragedy of Liberation bears witness to a shocking, largely untold history. Interweaving stories of ordinary citizens with tales of the brutal politics of Mao's court, Frank Dikötter illuminates those who shaped the "liberation" and the horrific policies they implemented in the name of progress. People of all walks of life were caught up in the tragedy that unfolded, and whether or not they supported the revolution, all of them were asked to write confessions, denounce their friends, and answer queries about their political reliability. One victim of thought reform called it a "carefully cultivated Auschwitz of the mind". Told with great narrative sweep, The Tragedy of Liberation is a powerful and important document giving voice at last to the millions who were lost and casting new light on the foundations of one of the most powerful regimes of the 21st century.

©2013 Frank Dikotter (P)2020 Tantor

Well informed history of Mao rule of China 1945 - 1957.

Performance needs a better narrator for the store to keep the reader attracted. The history was well informed well explained I would share this book with other people about Mao rule 1945-1957. The author explained everything well in very intriguing.

Broad History on a relatively short period

The pace of the history kept things moving at a brisk pace. Does not get bogged down in political details or dates. Instead gives little examples of experiences and brief vignettes. It’s at an introductory level. Doesn’t spend a ton of time on party politics or international context but enough to keep you grounded. Focused on the experience of the general population. I liked it enough that I intend to listen to the remainder of the trilogy.

the narration is abysmal

the content was interesting and so was the writing. it's unfortunate that the narrator is so horrendous. he ends almost every sentence like a question. I don't know how it was allowed to be published like that. garbage.

The wretchedness of men with power, not constrained by a moral compass and an absolute Power above!

The narrator was monotonous. He made it difficult to follow an otherwise excellent story that is tragic for its ruthless reality.

Great Book with Narration Issues

The good part is first. The text of the book is fascinating and well organized. I learned a lot and encourage others to explore it.

And now the bad part… My goodness, I only made it the end through long struggle sessions (pun intended). The narration is delivered in a repetitive and mechanical fashion. I frequently wondered if it was AI. Nearly every sentence is delivered with this cadence - “Medium medium high. Low low medium. Low low even lower.” This odd sing-song style hampers extended sessions and makes you long for better.

I don’t blame the narrator. I blame the producer and/or director of this production who could have and should have worked with him to deliver with greater variety. Making it to the end is a true slog. I encourage everyone to at least explore this book in text form as it is an impressive work of scholarship.

The book is excellent...the narrator not so much

The book itself is excellent, not the story of course, which is a tragedy, but Dikötter does a good job of telling the story and providing evidence. It truly shatters any idea that communism is a good idea. He shows that from the start the CCP brought oppression to the people of China. The successes of the Chinese people are in spite of the CCP not because of the CCP. I can only say after reading/listening to this book is the sad thing is that people who live in countries with a free press, will carry water for a regime that has murdered its own citizens, instead they slander the critics of the CCP with the worst names. The CCP has abused and continues to abuse its people, and to criticize its oppressive policies against its own people is standing up for those who cannot speak freely for themselves.

This book shows the roots of this oppressive regime. That they began terrorizing their own people and enslaved them. Requiring them to have "correct thinking" rather than freedom to think and speak. Mao is not a hero but a sociopath, he knew what he was doing was wrong, he just didn't care.

The only downside is the narrator of this audiobook. His reading is almost monotone and doesn't have much if any variation of tone. I was able to get through it by speeding up the audio to about 1.5 or 1.7x. 2x's was a bit too fast and caused words to skip. By speeding things up it was not as difficult to listen to.

enlightening.

had to get use to the readers voice at first. Facts if what happened to China is depressing. But knowledge we must know to prevent from repeating.

Great book; narration a little strange

I really enjoyed the book. It was long, and quite a difficult story to hear, but well written and makes a compelling argument. Critics may see it as a one-sided take-down of Mao and the communist party in the first half of the 20th century, but with the evidence marshaled here one has to wonder what, if anything ,could put Mao into a positive light after hearing this.

The narration, however, leaves something to be desired. “Stiff” would be putting it lightly. It seems as though the voice artist was trying to read as though it were a stage production, with a sort of bravado inappropriate for prose. The same cadence and emphasis line after line after line, not to mention the poorly pronounced Chinese (not the worst I’ve heard, but still seems like an important thing to work on if your job is reading a book about China), was hard not to notice.

Very thorough and well-structured, awful narration

Just as the headline suggests, and as other reviewers have noted.

Captivating yet horrifying, fascinating yet truly tragic. I am looking forward to the rest of this series by the author.

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